The Black-masked Finch is of uncertain relationships, although in some aspects of plumage and bill pattern there is a suggestion that it is related to the Pampa-Finches (Embernagra) and Grass-Finches (Emberizoides). This finch is a grassland species, found in a fragmented range with a clear isolate out in near the mouth of the Amazon. The other populations are in the grasslands of southern Brazil, and Bolivia-Paraguay. The Black-masked Finch is a handsome bird with a bicolored orange and black bill, a black face contrasting with a bold white supercilium, olive-green upperparts and white underparts. Its preferred habitats are tall grasslands with interspersed shrubs, or even Butia palms. The song is high pitched and insect like, a set of paired notes so closely spaced that they sound like one frequency modulated note “TZiieeep” repeated at intervals of approximately two seconds.

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